Davies refuses to rest

Sam Davies insists he will not fall into the trap of resting on his laurels after winning the IRB Junior Player of the Year award.

The Ospreys fly-half received the prestigious gong after guiding Wales Under-20 to the final of the Junior World Championship.

He follows in the footsteps of the likes of Gavin Henson and All Blacks Luke McAlister, Aaron Cruden and Julian Savea .

But there have also been a number of flops and Davies is confident he can avoid becoming a forgotten man - largely thanks to the grounding given to him by his father, former Wales international and current Gloucester director of rugby Nigel Davies.

"There are some household names on that list, but also others where you think 'what's happened to them?'" said Davies.

"Maybe they rested on their laurels after they won the award. That's something I certainly won't be doing.

"It's not a case of just waiting for my game time to come. I've got to push on in training and try to earn it.

"I don't feel any more pressure having won the award - I see it as giving me confidence. I've grown up with a lot of pressure with my father being who he is.

"When I was younger because people would say 'you're only getting places because of your father'.

"I used to look up to him as a role model. He was someone who guided me in the right direction and he never let me get ahead of myself.

"He's a good person to have in my life - someone who know so much about the game."

And Davies is well aware of the competition he faces at the Ospreys, with Dan Biggar and Matthew Morgan ahead of him in the Liberty Stadium pecking order.

But he reckons he is in the perfect place to continue his development and fully utilise the potential identified by his IRB award.

"If I train well, I like to think the opportunities will now arise," added Davies.

"They have a good track record of brining players through so hopefully I can become another.

"I've moved my game on in the last 12 months. To get to where we (Wales) did in a big tournament gives us all a lot of confidence. I've stepped up a level and hopefully that will be proved this season.

"It's good having someone like Dan in front of me because you can learn so much. It's great to train with him because of the communication levels he brings.

"He was away last year with Wales and I was on the bench a lot, so maybe this year I can come off the bench, or even get a game or two starting."

But the deadly marksman could have been kicking a round ball at the Liberty Stadium if matters had progressed differently.

Davies was a member of Swansea City's centre of excellence for almost nine years and played in the same side as Premier League left back Ben Davies.

But he reckons his success with Wales Under-20 vindicates his decision.

"I was with the Swans Centre of Excellence since I was six or seven but at 15 I got into the Ospreys a year early and had to make a decision," added Davies.

"I played with Ben a lot - I was left midfield and he was left back so we had a good relationship.

"You do wonder what might have happened but I'm 100 per cent happy with the decision I made.

"It's a lot more difficult to break into the senior team in football and I enjoy rugby more. It was always going to be rugby."

We look ahead to the French tests in this week's Principality Welsh Rugby Union Podcast. We look ahead to Wales France with Warren Gatland, Sam Warburton, Scott Baldwin, Rhys Webb and Jonathan Davies. Wales Women are the only team in red still unbeaten in this Six Nations, we speak to captain Rachel Taylor. Wales U20 are looking bounce back from defeat in Scotland, we hear from coach Jason Strange, captain Rory Thornton and front rower Dillon Lewis.

Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton look ahead to this week's crunch RBS 6 Nations tie against France, where the Wales skipper in particular is keen to make his mark, as Paris has proved a bleak place for him in the past.

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Following their historic win over England, Wales Under 20 suffered a narrow, 36-34 loss to their Scottish counterparts last weekend, despite outscoring them by five tries to three. Watch the match highlights and reaction.

Disappointment at the Millennium Stadium, but don't be sad because two out of three is not bad in this week's Principality Welsh Rugby Union Podcast as the 20s and Women both win. We hear from Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate, Alun Wyn Jones, Jamie Roberts and Leigh Halfpenny about the defeat to England and looking forward to Scotland. Wales U20s captain Ollie Griffiths, back Josh Adams and forwards coach Geraint Lewis talk about their victory over double world champions England, while Wales Women also beat a world championship winning England team - we speak to backs Elinor Snowsill, Ade Taviner and Laurie Harris.

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Nearly 40 players were involved in the first Wales Under 18 training session of the season. WRU National Performance Manager Gethin Watts is excited at the potential shown by the group and expects the Regional Under 18 Championship to hone their skills even further.

We look ahead to the French tests in this week's Principality Welsh Rugby Union Podcast. We look ahead to Wales France with Warren Gatland, Sam Warburton, Scott Baldwin, Rhys Webb and Jonathan Davies. Wales Women are the only team in red still unbeaten in this Six Nations, we speak to captain Rachel Taylor. Wales U20 are looking bounce back from defeat in Scotland, we hear from coach Jason Strange, captain Rory Thornton and front rower Dillon Lewis.